


Arriving Like Honeysuckle

by sinchun



Series: NCT Life in a Pack [10]
Category: NCT (Band)
Genre: Alpha Lee Jeno, Alpha/Beta/Omega Dynamics, Beta Dong Si Cheng | WinWin, Beta Huang Ren Jun, Beta Na Jaemin, Cuddling & Snuggling, Established Nomin, Huang Ren Jun-centric, Implied Sexual Content, M/M, Making Out, Mating Cycles/In Heat, Multi, Pack Dynamics, Polyamorous Pack, Rutting, mating bites are mentioned, norenmin are best friends with maybe? romantic undertones, renjun + wayv friendship!, renjun is an anxious boy
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-01-13
Updated: 2021-01-13
Packaged: 2021-03-17 09:08:24
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,544
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28722615
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/sinchun/pseuds/sinchun
Summary: One thing that Renjun has always appreciated about Jeno and Jaemin is that even though they’re disgustingly in love with each other, they never make it awkward. Renjun never feels like a third wheel when he’s with them. They’re still just three buddies hanging out.Until suddenly they aren’t.Renjun goes into heat for the first time, and Jeno and Jaemin are there for him.
Relationships: Dong Si Cheng | WinWin/Huang Ren Jun, Huang Ren Jun/Lee Jeno/Na Jaemin, Lee Jeno/Na Jaemin
Series: NCT Life in a Pack [10]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2043016
Comments: 16
Kudos: 149





	Arriving Like Honeysuckle

**Author's Note:**

> Usual disclaimer that this can be read as a standalone but that other fics in the series will help give context. [Sex Education (Or Something Like It)](https://archiveofourown.org/works/28564419) establishes Jeno and Jaemin’s relationship, for example. This story takes place before the events of [In Bloom](https://archiveofourown.org/works/27944945).

The pack moves at the start of 2019. It was always the plan to add an additional dorm when WayV debuted, only temporarily cramming the four new members in 2018 into the preexisting dorms, which had made for a very cramped year. But then they hadn’t been able to lease a new unit in the building they were already in, and no one wanted to have WayV so separated from the rest of them, so ultimately, they all ended up moving into an entirely new apartment building.

Instead of the planned three dorms, one for each subunit, they spread out into four, a development that thrills everyone. They’ve been living in such close quarters for so long that any little bit of extra space feels like a blessing. 127 splits into the first two dorms. The dreamies take the third.

Theoretically the fourth unit is the WayV dorm, but Winwin still wants to live with Taeil in the second 127 dorm. They’ve been roommates since the beginning and neither are interested in changing that, so Renjun offers to fill out the WayV dorm as Hendery’s roommate. He’s lived with a variety of pack members over the years—first Chenle, then Jeno and Jaemin, and most recently Jeno and Doyoung—and he likes the WayV guys. They’re fun, and with them, Renjun can use Mandarin around the apartment without feeling like he’s excluding anyone.

Renjun is still a pup, so he can live with anyone. He doesn’t yet have the cycles of an alpha or omega, nor is he a beta, sensitive to the pheromones of the others. Because of their volatile biology, Taeyong generally tries to keep the betas away from rooming with alphas or omegas, but Jaemin is the exception to the rule. He and Jeno got permission from Taeyong last year to give each other mating bites, the mixing of blood and saliva in their scent glands setting off a chemical reaction within their bodies. Jaemin’s biology has been permanently altered to align perfectly with Jeno’s. No longer is he susceptible to the pheromones of others. Now he only gets heats, always in sync with Jeno’s rut cycle.

“Do you ever miss going into rut?” Renjun had asked him once, when he was feeling particularly brave, and Jaemin had laughed.

“Not really.” Then he winked. “And I haven’t lost the ability to form a knot, which, really, is the—”

Renjun had cut him off before he could finish that thought. “I don’t want to hear about it!”

Jeno and Jaemin are the first couple in the pack to give each other mating bites. Jisung had been shocked when it happened. “I can’t believe they beat all of the older members to it!” he’d exclaimed, but Renjun could believe it. He’s always been able to tell that the two of them were utterly devoted to each other above all else. He used to share a room with them after all.

Though, now that he lives in the WayV dorm, Renjun has a first row seat to the way Kun and Ten act with each other, and he suspects that they’ll be mated too sooner rather than later. Renjun will be innocently eating breakfast in the kitchen with Ten and Yangyang, and then suddenly Kun will walk up behind Ten to embrace him and kiss the back of his neck. Renjun will roll his eyes and try not to laugh when Yangyang mouths, _Disgusting,_ at him.

Not that Yangyang has much of a high horse to look down from, because he’s just as prone to being touchy and physically affectionate with Xiaojun or Hendery, though Xiaojun has been clinging closer to Winwin and Lucas lately. That’s just the way it goes in a pack, Renjun knows. Everyone tends to be all over each other all the time.

Renjun is the only member in his dorm who hasn’t presented yet, but it doesn’t bother him. Unlike Mark, who seems to be constantly anxious over the fact that he’s still a pup, Renjun is more than happy to let things happen in their own time.

* * *

Even though he doesn’t live in the Dream dorm, Renjun still spends a lot of his free time there, playing games with Jisung or cooking with Chenle or watching dramas with Jeno and Jaemin. One thing that Renjun has always appreciated about Jeno and Jaemin is that even though they’re disgustingly in love with each other, they never make it awkward. Renjun never feels like a third wheel when he’s with them. They’re still just three buddies hanging out.

Until suddenly they aren’t.

It’s a Friday night, and Renjun is in the Dream living room, curled up on the couch between Jeno and Jaemin, when he starts overheating. His mind feels foggy, his thoughts moving thick and slow through his brain, as he pulls off his sweatshirt. He leans his head on Jeno’s shoulder and doesn’t think anything of it, until Jeno twists to press his lips along the line of his jaw. Jeno’s mouth feels so nice and right on his skin that it makes a moment for the weirdness of it to register in Renjun’s frazzled mind.

“Ah, Jeno?” he mumbles.

“You smell so good, Injunnie,” Jeno murmurs, ducking his head to kiss Renjun’s neck.

Despite the warmth flooding through his body, Renjun shivers. He wants nothing more than to give into the soft sensations of Jeno’s lips. He lets his eyes flutter closed, a sigh escaping his mouth. When a hand brushes against his face, his eyes snap back open again.

It’s Jaemin. The beta smooths his thumb across Renjun’s cheek before leaning in, eyes heavy-lidded. Renjun opens his mouth to ask what’s happening, but before he can speak, Jaemin kisses him. It’s only after, when Jaemin pulls back slightly, that Renjun manages to get the question out.

“I think you’re presenting,” Jaemin tells him. “You smell like you’re in heat.”

 _Ah._ That would certainly explain, well, everything. How hot his body feels. How badly he wants to be touched. The wetness beginning to drip down between his thighs.

“Do you want us to help you with your heat?” asks Jeno softly.

Renjun can’t help the needy whimper that escapes his lips at the thought. “Both of you?” he asks. He’s vaguely aware of the fact that Jeno and Jaemin are prone to taking thirds to bed with them. He’s pretty sure they slept with Haechan at some point within the past year, based on the unsubtle hints Haechan has dropped into conversations. He’s just never thought about it in the context of himself before.

“If you want us,” Jeno answers and presses a kiss to his temple. “If you want someone else, I’ll go get whoever it is for you right away.”

Renjun doesn’t like the thought of Jeno leaving. He pushes closer the alpha. “No,” he says quietly. “I want you.”

Jaemin curls around him and kisses the back of his neck. “We’ll take such good care of you,” he promises in a husky voice. “We’ll make you feel so good.”

At his words, Renjun can feel more slick leak down his legs. “Please,” he croaks out.

“Please what? What do you want?” asks Jaemin. His breath is teasing and hot against Renjun’s skin.

“Touch me,” Renjun whimpers, moaning when Jaemin does just that. He squirms and bucks upwards to press a frantic kiss to Jeno’s lips. Locking eyes with Jeno, Renjun feels an urge, overwhelming and insistent, unwinding in his belly. Some deep-set part of his biology pulls the next words out of his mouth: “Knot me.”

Jeno groans and Jaemin’s breath hitches. “Oh, Injunnie,” murmurs Jeno. He pulls Renjun into his arms. “Can we move this to our bedroom?”

Renjun nods. “Please,” he whispers, and then Jeno is scooping him up and carrying him from the living room down the hall to his and Jaemin’s room. Jaemin trails close after them, seemingly unwilling to let Renjun get too far from him.

“You have no idea,” he murmurs, as Jeno deposits Renjun on their bed.

“No idea of what?” asks Renjun. His brain still feels a little fuzzy, and it’s only intensified by being in Jeno and Jaemin’s bed, where their scents are even stronger than usual. It feels like that all Renjun can focus on is how alluring they smell, how much he wants them. Jeno kisses him on the cheek, and Renjun asks again, “What don’t I have any idea of?”

Jaemin crowds in to kiss him on the other cheek. “You have no idea how long we’ve been waiting for you to present.”

Renjun’s head spins at the statement, the compliment it implies. “You… what?” he manages.

“We’ve wanted you for a long time,” admits Jeno.

“You’re so beautiful, Renjun-ah,” Jaemin adds. He cradles Renjun’s head in his hands, turning his face towards him to kiss him. It’s somehow tender and electrifying all at once.

Renjun parts his lips without thinking, whimpering as Jaemin licks commandingly into his mouth. He moans against Jaemin’s lips, then moans louder when Jeno presses up behind him and begins sucking and nibbling gently on the back of his neck.

“Can I take your clothes off?” asks Jeno softly.

“ _Please_.” Renjun trembles with anticipation as Jeno’s hands slip down to the zip on his pants. “Can I?” he asks, reaching for the buttons of Jaemin’s shirt.

“You can do anything you want,” replies Jaemin, already helping Renjun to undress himself.

When Jaemin’s pants come off, Renjun’s gaze catches on the scent gland on his left thigh. He’s never seen a mating bite before, not in real life, and there’s something fascinating about it. The scar is a beautiful imprint of Jeno’s teeth. Renjun twists, wanting desperately to see the matching mark on Jeno. “Please,” he says again and tugs insistently on Jeno’s pants until the alpha wriggles out of them.

His scar is just as beautiful as Jaemin’s, Renjun decides. Without thinking, he reaches out to brush his fingertips over the mating bite on Jeno’s scent gland. Jeno growls low in his throat, then immediately blushes. “Warn a guy first next time,” he tells Renjun in a hoarse voice.

“I’m sorry. Does it hurt to touch?” asks Renjun.

Jaemin laughs quietly. He attaches himself to Renjun’s side and starts pressing kisses down his torso, his mouth hot and wet and _perfect_ on Renjun’s skin.

“No, it’s… it feels nice,” explains Jeno, embarrassed. “It’s a reminder, you know?”

Renjun doesn’t know, but he doesn’t feel inclined to push the matter, not when Jaemin is swirling his tongue over the ridge of his hipbone and staring up at him with eyes dark and hungry. “You look delicious,” purrs Jaemin. “Like I could just eat you up.”

 _Please do,_ thinks Renjun. He thinks that Jaemin could just about anything to him with his mouth and Renjun would thank him for it.

Jeno cups Renjun’s cheek with one hand, and as if he can read his mind, murmurs, “Jaemin is very good with his mouth, isn’t he?”

Renjun merely whimpers in response.

“I know exactly what you mean,” says Jeno with an amused smile, then he’s leaning forward to slot his his mouth over Renjun’s. He grazes his teeth along Renjun’s bottom lip, teasing a gasp out of Renjun.

Between Jeno’s kisses and Jaemin moving lower and lower with his tongue, Renjun feels like he’s melting. His body is still so hot, wet and getting wetter. “Want you to knot me,” he whines, feeling desperate and pathetic and needy.

“We will,” Jaemin assures him, tone placating, at the same time that Jeno asks, "Who do you want first? Me or Jaem?”

Renjun remembers suddenly what Jaemin had told him once: he hasn’t lost the ability to form a knot. Before, it had been an unwanted piece of personal information, but now the knowledge makes Renjun’s mouth water.

“You’ll take care of me?” he asks, suddenly craving reassurance. “You’ll make me feel good?”

Jeno kisses his nose, and when he pulls back, there’s a tender smile on his face. “We’ll take very good care of you,” he promises.

Jaemin rubs his hands over Renjun’s thighs and adds, “We’ll make you feel _so_ good, Injunnie.”

Renjun lies back onto the bed and lets his eyes flutter closed. He lets Jeno and Jaemin lavish his body with attention. He lets himself give in to the pleasure.

* * *

As it turns out, Jaemin is very chatty in bed. Between rounds, he showers Renjun with compliments, badgers him with questions. “Do you suppose you’re an omega or do you think you’re going to turn out to be a beta like me?” he asks, dragging his hand through Renjun’s hair during a moment when Renjun’s heat doesn’t feel so overpowering.

Renjun hums happily, leaning into the sensation of Jaemin’s fingers against his scalp. Exhausted by his heat and everything the three of them have done to try to satisfy it, he relishes the tender touches. Still, he musters up the energy to retort, “How should I know?”

“Wanna take bets on it?” asks Jaemin.

Jeno flicks his ear. “Don’t be rude,” he chides.

“Is it rude to bet on your friends’ presentations?” Jaemin asks innocently. “Because I’m pretty sure that Taeyong-hyung and Doyoung-hyung bet over mine before I presented.”

“That is not true,” insists Jeno.

Jaemin huffs, then snuggles closer to Renjun. “Okay, fine,” he admits. “They didn’t have a bet, but they definitely discussed it! Taeyong-hyung totally thought I was going to be an omega.”

“You talk too much to be an omega,” grouses Renjun. It’s a meaningless statement, conjured up just to be petty, and they all know it.

“Have you _met_ any of the omegas in our pack?” Jaemin shoots back with a gasp of faux indignation.

“If the two of you don’t shut up and stop bickering over stupid shit, I’m kicking you both out of the bed,” warns Jeno, immediately undercutting the threat by wrapping his arms around Renjun and dropping a gentle kiss on his neck.

Renjun twists around to kiss him back, even as he dramatically complains to Jaemin about being persecuted by the alpha.

Jaemin cackles. “You hear that, honey?” he says to Jeno. “Renjun-ah thinks that _you’re_ the onewho holds the reins in this relationship.”

“Hmm, I don’t know if talking more necessarily means you’re the one in charge,” teases Jeno.

Renjun laughs and tugs Jeno’s and Jaemin’s arms around himself. He feels so safe and snug and happy cuddled up between them.

* * *

After two days of being heat, Renjun learns that, like Jaemin, he is a beta when the hotness in his body subsides, only to be replaced with the itch of a rut. Jeno’s presence, which had previously felt so comforting, now feels crushing and oppressive. Renjun’s skin prickles. “I need to go!” he blurts, eyes darting the room looking frantically for his clothing.

He can’t stand the tension suddenly spiking in the air, can’t bring himself to meet Jeno’s pained gaze as he hops into his pants and pulls his shirt back on. “Injunnie…” Jeno begins in a sad voice, but Renjun just _can’t_.

“I’m sorry,” he says and rushes out of the room.

Jaemin throws on a robe and follows him to the front door of the Dream dorm. To Renjun’s relief, he doesn’t try to stop him or scold him for his hasty exit. Instead, his eyes are sympathetic as he says, “I understand. The whiplash of presenting as a beta is hard.”

Renjun wants to cry. He feels so bad for his reaction, but the thought of being around an alpha—any alpha—right now feels stifling. “I’m sorry,” he says again.

“I know.” Jaemin reaches out take Renjun’s hand into his and squeezes it reassuringly. “We’ll still be here for you when your rut ends.”

Renjun brings Jaemin’s hand to his mouth to kiss his knuckles, thanks him, then darts out of the dorm. His mind feels fractured. Jeno and Jaemin are two of his best friends. He really liked being with them, in every sense of the word. It’s unfair that his biology now won’t let him stay. _I never asked to be a beta!_ he thinks in a moment of vicious misery.

He runs into Winwin in the hallway between the dorms and feels immediately relieved. Winwin has always been a special friend to him, a comforting and steady presence. And comforting and steady is exactly what Winwin is when he places a hand on Renjun’s shoulder and asks if he’s okay.

“M’presenting,” mumbles Renjun, and then the whole story is bursting out of him, filtering between Mandarin and Korean as he explains everything. That he had his first heat. That Jeno and Jaemin took him bed. That now he’s rutting and running away and hating himself for it. As he talks, he realizes that he notices Winwin’s scent changing, blossoming into something irresistibly sweet. “Are you…” he begins, before it clicks. “Oh, my pheromones… I’ve sent you into heat, haven’t I?”

Winwin is a beta too after all.

“Yes,” admits Winwin with a sheepish smile. “You, uh, it’s especially potent because it’s your first rut.”

“I’m sorry,” says Renjun, embarrassed. It feels like he can’t do anything right today.

“It’s okay. It’s not your fault,” Winwin says simply. “You can’t help it.”

And it’s exactly the reassurance that Renjun needed. Throwing his arms around Winwin, he buries his face into the older boy’s chest. “Why does it have to be so hard?” he asks miserably.

Winwin strokes a hand through his hair and presses a kiss to the top of his head. “Can I help you?” he asks.

“Help me?” Renjun echoes, then he understands. Winwin wants to help him with his rut the same way that Jeno and Jaemin helped him with his heat. “Are you sure you want to?” he asks, laughing mirthlessly. “I just fucking bounced on Jeno and Jaemin. Aren’t you worried I’ll run out on you too?”

“You think you’re the only beta to panic when their first heat turns into a rut?” Winwin shoots back mildly. “There’s no need to be so self-flagellating.”

Renjun supposes Winwin has a point there. He supposes that Winwin, as another beta, probably understands better than anyone what he’s going through. “You’re right. I… I would really appreciate your help.”

Winwin kisses him on the forehead and suggests, “Let’s go to your room, okay?” Holding Renjun’s hand, he leads him back to the WayV dorm, where they’re greeted by Kun and Xiaojun watching a movie together on the living room couch.

The moment he sees them, Kun is on his feet and coming over to check on them. He can tell from their scents that something is going on, that Winwin has gone into heat and that Renjun is distressed, but as he gets close, Renjun growls and pulls back. Just like with Jeno, the alpha’s presence aggravates him.

Kun’s face pinches, but he seems to immediately understand the situation. He graciously steps away from Renjun to give him space, calling over his shoulder to Xiaojun, “Do you know if Hendery is home?”

 _Oh_. That’s something Renjun hadn’t even thought about. Hendery is a beta too and would be affected by his rut pheromones if he were in their shared room. _Or would Winwin’s heat pheromones cancel them out?_ Renjun isn’t sure. At least he won’t have to change rooms, since he and Hendery are both betas.

“He and Yangyang are out right now,” Xiaojun tells them. He approaches Renjun and Winwin carefully. Unlike Kun, who’s alpha status was impossible for Renjun to stomach, his scent is soft and sweet to Renjun’s newly awakened nose. If it weren’t for Winwin’s presence grounding him, Renjun might be tempted to throw himself at the omega.

 _I’d bet he makes the prettiest noises in bed,_ Renjun thinks idly, as Winwin thanks Xiaojun for the information then tugs on Renjun’s arm, guiding him to his room.

Once Winwin closes the door behind them, Renjun turns to him. Despite now being infinitely more experienced than he was but two days prior, he feels much more bashful than he did with Jeno and Jaemin. Perhaps it’s because Winwin is older, presumably with much more experience to measure Renjun or against, or perhaps it’s because now that he’s rutting, Renjun feels like he’s expected to take on a more dominant, leading role. Either way, he feels shy as he asks, “Can I kiss you?”

“Please,” replies Winwin. His eyes are familiar and comforting and eager.

Renjun threads his fingers into Winwin’s hair and pulls his face down for a lingering kiss. Winwin’s lips are chapped but so warm and inviting, and parting for Renjun to lick experimentally into his mouth.

The more they kiss, Winwin’s hands twisting teasingly around the nape of Renjun’s neck, the more Renjun wants him. It feels like his rutting instincts are finally kicking in, driving him to pull the older beta close-close-closer until their bodies are flush against each other. It still isn’t enough. Hungry for more, Renjun fists the collar of Winwin’s shirt, pulling away from his mouth to kiss and suck on the soft skin of his neck, and drags him backwards towards his bed.

* * *

When Renjun’s rut finally ends, he stays curled up in his bed with Winwin. The older beta’s heat has gone with his rut, and with clearer minds, they cuddle together.

“Is it always that crazy, being a beta?” asks Renjun, and Winwin laughs quietly.

“Once you get through that initial heat-rut double whammy, it’s much more manageable,” he tells Renjun. “Heats and ruts both get easier the more you have them. I think that’s true for alphas and omegas too.” He cards his fingers through Renjun’s hair.

It’s nice. Renjun leans into the touch, happy until he remembers how Jaemin had similarly played with his hair when he had been in bed with him and Jeno. “I straight up ran away when my rut began. I should probably go talk to them,” he realizes aloud. There’s no need to say who he’s referring to.

Winwin hums in agreement. “Probably,” he says and presses a tender kiss to Renjun’s shoulder.

“Do you think they’re mad at me?”

“When my first heat became a rut, I freaked out and curled up into a ball and cried. Like, a _lot_. I still wasn’t very good with Korean at the time, so I didn’t know how to explain to Yuta what I needed. He panicked and brought Kun to me but having another alpha there only made things worse.” Winwin’s voice is light as he tells the story, and Renjun isn’t exactly sure where he’s going with it, but he knows Winwin must have a point so he lets him continue without interruption. “I said some very mean things to both of them. Yuta may not have understood my words but he definitely got the gist of it. I only calmed down once Ten showed up.”

It’s hard for Renjun to imagine Winwin saying something genuinely mean to either Yuta or Kun, but having now experienced the jarring shock of going immediately from heat to rut, he can totally see how that might have happened.

“Just the year before, Yuta had been with Jaehyun when he presented,” Winwin goes on. “When Jaehyun’s heat turned to rut, he got physically aggressive with Yuta, trying to throw him out of his room. So if Jeno’s and Jaemin’s feelings are hurt by you leaving quickly, they can form a ‘helped a beta through his first heat’ support group with Yuta, listen to _his_ experiences with it, and get over themselves.”

Renjun laughs at Winwin’s bluntness, then a realization strikes him. “Hey, but Jaemin is a beta too. And didn’t he spend his first heat with Jeno? What happened when he started rutting?” he asks curiously.

Winwin’s mouth quirks into an amused smile. “Well, they had a threesome with Doyoung-hyung because he was already there.”

“What?!” Renjun bolts upright in bed. He’s always done his best to ignore whatever lurid rumors were swirling around the pack, but he’s not sure how he managed to miss that one entirely. “They _what_? Why was Doyoung-hyung there?”

“He and Taeyong-hyung were worried about them accidentally injuring each other in the haze of first rut and heat, so they helped them,” explain Winwin mildly.

“The four of them had a fucking orgy?!” Renjun screeches.

Winwin rolls his eyes. “See, this is why Doyoung-hyung didn’t want to tell any of the other dreamies about it,” he says, laughing. “Because he knew you’d react all weirdly.”

“I’m not being weird,” protests Renjun. “I’m just surprised, is all.” Surprised might be an understatement. Doyoung always seems so tightly wound—Chenle would call him an uptight prude—it’s shocking to think of him having a threesome with Jeno and Jaemin, let alone bringing Taeyong into the mix. Deciding not to dwell on that line of thinking anymore, Renjun snuggles himself deeper into Winwin’s arms, enjoying the comforting scent of his friend, until Winwin prods at him to get out of bed, saying that they need to shower and rejoin the rest of the world.

Renjun doesn’t feel quite ready to relinquish the intimate comfort, so he pouts and whines until Winwin agrees to shower with him. Under the spray of hot water, they kiss and wash each other’s hair and laugh. Renjun loves it.

Afterwards, Winwin helps him to strip his bed and bundle the sheets into the laundry, before heading out. Renjun goes up on tiptoe to press one last kiss to his cheek, then turns his attention to figuring out how what he wants to say to Jeno and Jaemin when he sees them again.

Despite Winwin’s reassurances that he shouldn’t feel bad for his reaction, showing up at the Dream dorm with a simple “Yo, sorry for dipping post-sex” feels like it wouldn’t cut it, so Renjun enlists Kun’s help in baking an apology cake for Jeno and Jaemin.

“Don’t you think maybe you’re overthinking this a little bit, Renjun?” asks Kun, even as he agrees and starts pulling ingredients out of the cupboard. “Things rarely go smoothly when one presents. I’m sure they understand.”

“It’s important to me,” says Renjun stubbornly. Jeno and Jaemin are two of his nearest and dearest friends. The idea of anything becoming broken between them would kill Renjun.

Yangyang and Xiaojun crowd into the kitchen, eager to get their fingers into the chocolatey batter, no matter how many times Kun slaps their hands away and scolds them. Renjun welcomes their company. Once the cake finally gets into the oven, he lets himself cuddle up to Xiaojun. Even though he’s no longer rutting, he still finds the omega’s presence exceedingly soothing.

Xiaojun’s arm immediately finds its way around Renjun’s shoulders to tug him close. Yangyang joins soon after, leaning his cheek against Renjun’s as he snuggles up with the other two. Kun’s face melts into an affectionate smile when he sees the three younger members squashed together.

 _Pack,_ thinks Renjun happily. It feels different now that he’s presented. He can smell everyone’s distinctive scents and can pick up on new information from it. The tangy undertone to Yangyang’s scent tells him that the alpha is worried about him and wants him to feel better. _I will once I talk to Jeno and Jaemin._

After the cake comes out of the oven, Kun sets Renjun, Xiaojun, and Yangyang with the task of cleaning the kitchen while he makes frosting and they wait for it cool enough to decorate. “What type of fruit do you want to top it with?” asks Kun.

“Strawberries!” Yangyang suggests before Renjun has the chance to answer.

“Absolutely not,” says Renjun, shoving playfully at Yangyang. “The cake is a present, and Jaemin _hates_ strawberries.”

Yangyang pouts. “It’s not my fault Jaemin has no taste,” he grumbles good-naturedly.

Xiaojun rummages around the cupboard for the mint extract. “How about mixing this into the frosting? Mint goes well with chocolate.”

“Jaemin doesn’t like mint either,” Renjun tells him.

Sighing, Xiaojun returns the bottle to the cupboard. He exchanges amused glances with Yangyang and agrees, “No taste.”

Kun laughs. “What if I added some coffee to the frosting?” he asks Renjun. “That would also go well with chocolate, and Jaemin likes coffee, doesn’t he?”

Jaemin _loves_ coffee. Renjun nods. “Kun-ge, you’re a genius!” he proclaims.

“What about for Jeno?” asks Xiaojun. “What does he like?”

Renjun snickers. “Oh, he likes whatever Jaemin likes.”

“Whipped,” mutters Yangyang.

“Like Kun-ge is for Ten,” adds Xiaojun, and then Kun is chasing the both of them out of the kitchen with a shout devoid of any real anger and a dishtowel snapping at their retreating backs.

Renjun treasures the sudden calmness, as he and Kun quietly spread frosting onto the cake in easy companionship. Like Doyoung, Kun enjoys babying the younger members, but Renjun isn’t as close to Doyoung as the other dreamies so he doesn’t often get this sort of one-on-one attention. He basks in it, relishing Kun’s love until the cake is finally decorated.

Kun sees him off to the Dream dorm with an encouraging smile. “Everything will be fine,” he tells Renjun. “Jaemin and Jeno adore you, you know that, right?”

Rationally, yes, Renjun knows that. He tries to remind himself of the fact as he knocks on the door to the Dream dorm.

Chenle is the one who answers the door. His eyes light up when he sees the cake. “Oh, for me? You shouldn’t have!” he gushes.

“Yeah, well, good, because I didn’t,” says Renjun flatly. “It’s for Jeno and Jaemin.”

“Ah.”

Renjun doesn’t care for the knowing lilt in Chenle’s voice. “What’s that supposed to mean?” he asks grouchily.

Chenle shrugs. “Nothing. Just that they’ve been a little down lately.” He says it so easily, like the words don’t make Renjun’s stomach twist into nervous knots. “Oh, I heard you presented, by the way. Congrats.”

“… Thanks.” Renjun trudges past Chenle to glance around the dorm’s common space. “Are they…”

“In their room,” Chenle tells him.

Renjun sets the cake down on the kitchen counter. “Don’t even think about eating it,” he warns Chenle. “I swear, if you or Jisung so much as dip your fingers into the frosting, I will not hesitate to murder either of you.”

Only once Chenle rolls his eyes and promises not to touch the cake, does Renjun head down the hallway to Jeno and Jaemin’s room. He thinks about what Chenle said. _They’ve been down lately? Maybe they_ are _mad at me._

The door flies open before Renjun has the chance to knock on it. It’s Jaemin. He grabs Renjun’s hand and pulls him into the room before Renjun has the chance to flee. Not that he would flee from Jaemin. He only considered it for a half a second and that was more out of surprise than anything.

“I thought I smelled your scent in the dorm!” exclaims Jaemin excitedly. He nudges Renjun to sit on the bed. Renjun sits, and is further startled by Jeno suddenly poking his head out of the bundle of blankets next to him.

“Hey, Injunnie.” Jeno smiles warmly at him, his eyes disappearing into familiar crescents, and Renjun’s heart aches at how normal everything feels.

He fidgets, picking anxiously at the skin around his fingernails. “I just wanted to apologize,” he begins slowly.

Jeno frowns at him, and Jaemin reaches forward to take Renjun’s hands into his, as if to silently say, _Don’t pick at yourself._ “What are you apologizing for?” asks Jeno.

“For the way I reacted when my rut began!” Renjun blurts out. “You were both so, _so_ good to me, and then I just… _dipped_ , and you didn’t deserve that. I’m really sorry.”

“Ah, you don’t have to apologize for that,” Jeno says and sits up to give Renjun a reassuring smile. “That’s just how it goes sometimes.”

Jaemin nods, moving his hands from Renjun’s to pinch at his cheeks instead. “We could never be mad at our precious Renjun-ah,” he coos.

“I’m being serious!” protests Renjun. “I feel really bad for running away.”

Jeno wraps an arm around his shoulders. “You shouldn’t,” he says simply. “We understand. We just missed having you around.”

Relieved, Renjun lets himself relax into Jeno’s side, pressing his face against the alpha’s chest. “I was just so worried that I’d managed to mess things up or something,” he mumbles, voice muffled by Jeno’s shirt.

“It’d take a lot more than a little rut-induced freak out to mess things up with us,” Jaemin assures him and koalas himself onto Renjun’s back.

Being pressed so tightly between the two of them reminds Renjun of the way they had held him when his heat first began. Jeno and Jaemin still feel just as comforting now on either side of him as they did then. “So we’re still good?” he asks one last time, just be sure.

“We’re very good,” Jeno promises and pulls him in for a tender kiss.

Jaemin pouts and whines until Jeno lets him press a soft kiss to Renjun’s lips as well, and in the end, the cake goes forgotten until much later in the day.

**Author's Note:**

> Me? Dropping lore about how mating bites function in this AU into this fic about Renjun presenting? It’s more likely than you think. Speaking of AU lore, I’ve put together a [tumblr](https://sinchun.tumblr.com/pack) that has additional notes and such for this series for anyone who’s interested (including breaking this series down into sub-series for ease of reading only certain types of fics and whatnot). I also have anon asks on in case anyone would rather shout stuff at me anonymously instead of in the comments here. 
> 
> doyu smut is up next! It’s gonna be a wild one. Sneaky peaky: 
> 
> _“Is this from Taeyong?” asks Yuta, digging hard his finger in to the bruise on Doyoung’s hip._
> 
> _Doyoung hisses in pain. “Yes, it’s from Taeyong,” he chokes out. “He likes to mark me.”_
> 
> _“Cute,” Yuta says derisively, then seals his mouth over the hickey, sucking hard to make it darker, make it his own._
> 
> Let me know what other characters you're curious about in this series :3


End file.
